What's the truth behind getting your abs to show?

[robdawg86]

So they say diet is 90% or so of getting your abs to show. So lets say you get down to the lower percent needed. Does this mean that we don't need to do much ab exercise or what?

Are ab muscles like any other muscle in your body and should only be trained a couple of days a week? My roomates and I have been skeptical about everyone telling us that you can work your abs every single day because they are unlike your larger muscles. What is the real truth behind this?

And lastly, does anyone know any ab exercises to make your abs thicker/wider?

Thanks!

[ItTakesTime]

dude, dude, searchhhh.

[-Aaron-]

So they say diet is 90% or so of getting your abs to show. So lets say you get down to the lower percent needed. Does this mean that we don't need to do much ab exercise or what?

Are ab muscles like any other muscle in your body and should only be trained a couple of days a week? My roomates and I have been skeptical about everyone telling us that you can work your abs every single day because they are unlike your larger muscles. What is the real truth behind this?

And lastly, does anyone know any ab exercises to make your abs thicker/wider?

Thanks!

Diet, although important for abs, not at the percent you gave. You need to work your abs as well. A good training program will be good for this.

I tend to use the weight machines for ab work outs, but many feel free weights are better. It's all a matter of preference. Go to your gym and try them out. You can visit the workout program forum located below for more information. Check out the stickies there too.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8

[-Aaron-]

dude, dude, searchhhh.

You have also been guilty of not searching before.

[Finnegan Bell]

No,abs are different from other body muscles,they are trained with higher reps,same as calves,but I honestly dont know the scientific reasons behind that.

[luckykris]

You have also been guilty of not searching before.

Exactly. I hate seeing this. This is what the forums are for. Sure the stickies and articles are great. But its cool to have some advice from the people who check the boards daily..

[ItTakesTime]

You have also been guilty of not searching before.

Point well taken

[ItTakesTime]

If you want your abs to show you have to exercise them like every other muscle iny our body. No more than three times a week. I do them twice. Most of it is fat in front of your abs. So weight loss is key. Anymore questions pm me, more than happy to help. I was a beginner at one point as well.

[robdawg86]

bump

[|ceman]

So they say diet is 90% or so of getting your abs to show. So lets say you get down to the lower percent needed. Does this mean that we don't need to do much ab exercise or what?

Are ab muscles like any other muscle in your body and should only be trained a couple of days a week? My roomates and I have been skeptical about everyone telling us that you can work your abs every single day because they are unlike your larger muscles. What is the real truth behind this?

And lastly, does anyone know any ab exercises to make your abs thicker/wider?

Thanks!

Many bb'ers with great abs train them daily (maybe take Sunday off )

You def need to exercise them. If they are small, weighted work will build them up. Otherwise, higher rep bodyweight work will help define them.

Why do you want thicker abs? They will make your waist wider which makes you look fatter in clothes. If you mean keep a small waist, but make the ab muscles themselves extend further toward your sides, you really can't. Ab muscle shape and general size are largely genetic. That is why guys like Dexter Jackson have a side by side six pack, but Jay Cutler's abs look like they are melting.

[-Aaron-]

bump

There was no reason to bump. I gave you the information you wanted and pointed you in a better direction to find more.

[pete_3178]

can u overtrain abs? so you cant do 100 crunches daily or its just waist of time just do say 4x30 twice a week(example)

[ManOwarrior86]

Its true, you never have to workout your abs to get a six-pack. Hell, when I was at 20% bf I would out crunch and situp big time guys in high school with like 6-7% bf.

[tbush]

I don't think you will see any benefits past 3 days a week. Even 3 days probably won't give you much benefit over 2 days.

[user89489489438943]

So they say diet is 90% or so of getting your abs to show. So lets say you get down to the lower percent needed. Does this mean that we don't need to do much ab exercise or what?

Are ab muscles like any other muscle in your body and should only be trained a couple of days a week? My roomates and I have been skeptical about everyone telling us that you can work your abs every single day because they are unlike your larger muscles. What is the real truth behind this?

And lastly, does anyone know any ab exercises to make your abs thicker/wider?

Thanks!

<--- u mean show like this?

[RaferAlston26]

Yes, abs need more reps for hypertrophy but then comes the question, "can you tone?" What the hell is toning? I don't know. I see this word a lot and it confuses me. Regardless, if you want abs there are two things you need to do:

1) Make them bigger
2) Low Body Fat %

Period. That's it. There are a handful of body weight exercises that are good enough to cause hypertrophy in the abdominals. When you do reverse crunches, this is enough to cause your lower abdominals to grow. Now, from what I've read if you're able to do 40 crunches, you're doing them wrong usually unless your abs are highly conditioned. Technique is very important in abs. You have to use abs only when doing them. Using momentum will completely defeat the purpose. Most are relecutant to use weighted abdominal exercises and I don't know why. You want abs, they have to be bigger. This is the same for any muscle. Think about it. You curl to get big biceps right? Well, how come you don't only do body weight curls? On top of that, for the biceps to be nice you'll need low BF%. Same for abs.

As for why Abs require more work thats because they're busy stabilizing your entire body throughout the day and thats the same with calves. When you walk you use your calves, when you stand you use your calves. They're constantly stabilizing so to actually force them to grow, you'd need more reps but more reps doesn't mean 100 sit ups. I admit, you'll see a nice gut on me but doesn't mean I don't have the abs. I could do all the crunches I want but I won't have nice abs til I lose the fat. So my 2 points make sense. Mixing body weight and weighted ab exercises all the way trimming fat is the best way to get nice abs. 90% diet for sure 10% exercise.

[tosca]

Yes, abs need more reps for hypertrophy but then comes the question, "can you tone?" What the hell is toning? I don't know. I see this word a lot and it confuses me. Regardless, if you want abs there are two things you need to do:

1) Make them bigger
2) Low Body Fat %

good post.

i think there are clearly at least two camps here.
weighted ab exercises and not.

both can work although depending on the persons genetics and body comp, one or the other may be more ideal. a while back i was working with a trainer who was a bodybuilder/fitness model, who was well known for his abs. he was huge for his size, but he leaned more towards fitness model type as he stayed under 8% year round. he believed in working abs daily on the floor with no weight. mostly bicycle crunches, this did the trick and then some, especially for his older clients who already had plenty of mass in the abdominals. its possible for those that are ectos, weighted abs may be the only method to get them to "pop." in this case of course one would not want to work them daily to allow for proper recovery.

[-Aaron-]

<--- u mean show like this?

Yes, like that.

I'm never going to get abs without surgery.

[RaferAlston26]

The amount the abs should be trained has been argued to death. My sister's boyfriend does them everyday and he has awesome abs. Another guy with even sicker abs does them twice a week. Terrell Owens with awesome abs does them once a week. So how often should we do them? Well here's something from Chris Shugrat at T-nation in his article evolution of abs:

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle....icle=body_96ab

Lessons Learned

1) Russians and Canadians know more than Americans about ab training.

2) Trying to develop a visible six-pack without a proper diet is like asking fitness babe Laura Selway to touch you on your naughty parts for a dollar ? it just ain't gonna' work.

3) If you see an ad for an exercise device on television at 2am, it sucks.

4) If said device stores conveniently under your bed, only takes two minutes a day, and is advertised by Chrissy from "Three's Company," it really sucks.

5) High-rep ab training, for the most part, sucks. Go heavy or go home, and watch "Flex Appeal" ? Kiana's new breasticles are quite lovely.

Here are some more articles to help everyone with a quest to nicer abs and clearer answers:

Real Abs by John Davies - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459681
Abs on Trial by Christian Thib - http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle....5-029-training

The one by Christian Thib is awesome. It answers a lot of questions everyone always asks. Enjoy those articles.